The Baby
by Carly Simonetta
Summary: Derek finally learns the meaning of the word responsibility.
1. Chapter 1

It was breakfast time at the Venturi-McDonald home and everyone was seated around the kitchen table each eating his or her favourite breakfast food. Casey, Lizzie and Nora all had toast and eggs, which is what they were accustomed to having in the morning when it was just the three of them. The Venturis on the other hand had a wide variety of breakfast foods. George was chomping away on a leftover piece of pizza from the night before; Derek was gobbling up the last of the Lucky Charms; Edwin, who'd wanted the Lucky Charms but wasn't quick enough to grab them from Derek, was eating Cheerios; and Marti, who still insisted on eating under the table like an animal, was licking up a bowl full of Chocolate Puffs.

"How do you guys live like this?" Casey exclaimed, breaking the silence.

"Like what?" George said, picking an undesired piece of pepperoni off his cold pizza.

"You're like cavemen, only worse."

"Oh, yeah?" Derek shot back. "And how are us _Venturis_ worse than cavemen?"

"Because at least cavemen knew what was healthy for them," Casey explained. "All the sugar in that cereal is going to give you at least a few cavities, if not take years off your life."

"The less time I have to spend with you," Derek said, shoving a spoonful of cereal in his mouth, "the better."

"Ew! Gross, Derek!" Casey shouted as milk dribbled out of Derek's mouth as he spoke. "Haven't you ever heard the expression 'don't talk with your mouth full'?"

"Ever heard the expression 'don't care?"

"Now, stop it, you two," Nora ordered. "Can't we have just one civil breakfast together _free_ of all this frivolously fighting?"

"I'm all for it," George agreed before taking another bite of his pizza.

"And, George, would you please stop eating last night leftovers for breakfast. It's just not healthy."

"What?" George said, his mouth full with his previous bite.

"Now I see where Derek gets it from," Casey said, noticing that George had just spoken with his mouth full like Derek had earlier. "It's genetic."

"Why don't we try a friendly little exercise?" Nora suggested.

"Like what?" Edwin asked.

"Don't encourage her," Derek scolded his younger brother.

"I heard that, Derek," Nora said. "So for this exercise, I want each of us to go around the table and say something nice about a member of the opposite family, all right?"

"And why should we have to do this?" Derek asked.

"Yeah," Casey agreed. "Why should I have to say something nice about someone I don't even like?"

"You don't have to say something nice about Derek, Casey. You can say something nice about George or Edwin… or Marti even."

"What nice thing can I say about Marti?" Casey wondered a moment before her foot was drenched in milk and cereal. "Marti," Casey began slowly, "did you just pour your cereal on my foot?"

"Ha!" Derek laughed. "Good one, Marti!"

"Ugh," Casey groaned. "You steps are _so_ behind on the evolutionary scale. Me, Mom and Lizzie are at homosapian; you, Edwin, Marti and even George—"

"Hey!" George cried in protest.

"Are at chimp," Casey said, finishing her sentence.

"That's enough, Casey," Nora said, quieting her daughter. "George, why don't you start by saying something nice about one of us McDonalds?" Nora suggested.

"I've got a whole list on you, honey," George answered. "But most of them I can't say in front of the kids."

"Why don't you say something nice about Casey then?"

"You mean the girl that just called me a chimp?"

"Just do it, George," Nora said firmly.

"All right," George agreed. "Casey, you… you have lovely hair."

"Are you kidding?" Casey shouted. "I haven't even washed it this morning. It's a mess! No wonder this place is a pigsty, you Venturis don't know the difference between clean and dirty!"

"Okay, Nora, _why_ did I need to hear that little rant?" George asked.

"Casey, your stepfather just gave you a compliment," Nora said. "Why don't you give him one back?"

"Why?"

"Because that's the point of this exercise."

"Fine," Casey grumbled. "George… it's possible that Derek inherited his annoying hyjinx genes from his mother. Not terribly likely, but possible."

"Casey, how does that seem like a compliment to you?" Nora questioned.

"It's the best you're going to get out of me," Casey shot back.

"Derek, why don't you give it a shot?"

"Okay, who would like me to _compliment_ first?"

"You can decide," Nora said. "You can give a compliment to me, Lizzie or Casey."

"I choose you, Nora," Derek said.

Nora put her hand on her chest, flattered to be receiving a compliment from her stepson. "Really?"

"Yeah," Derek said with a smile. "You have great taste in magazines."

"Oh," Nora said, slightly surprised by the comment. "Why is that, Derek?"

"Derek, what have I told you about that?" George scolded.

"Hey, she asked for a compliment, I gave her one," Derek said, getting back to his breakfast.

"That wasn't a compliment as much as it was a sleazy confession," George said.

"Would you care to explain to me what's going on?" Nora asked her husband.

"Derek's been looking at your magazine collection when you're not around," George explained.

"Well, I'm glad you've come to appreciate my reading material," Nora said to Derek.

Casey laughed, catching onto what George was talking about. "Mom, don't you get it?"

"Get what?"

"He's reading your lady magazines," Casey clarified.

"What?" Nora said, surprised. "Why would you be interested in those?"

"He's checking out the half-naked women in them, duh!" Casey said.

"Derek…" Nora said warningly, ready to dish out punishment.

At that moment the doorbell rang.

"Well, whadayaknow," Derek said hopping out of his seat and heading for the door. "Saved by the bell." As Derek opened the door, he made a starting discovery.

There, on the Venturi's front porch, was a baby basinet, complete with baby.

"Who is it?" George called.

"No one," Derek called back. He slowly reached into the basinet, careful not to wake the baby, and pulled out the note.

It read:

_Dear Derek,_

_Hope you enjoy your son._

"Derek," Casey said as she came to the door, "what's with the baby?"

Derek handed Casey the note. "Apparently he's mine."

"Mom! George!" Casey shouted as she finished the note and headed back to the kitchen. "I think we've got a problem on our hands!"

Hearing the shouting, the baby quickly awoke, crying and screaming as babies usually do.

"Oh, yeah," Derek muttered to himself. "We've got a _big_ problem on our hands."


	2. Chapter 2

Derek picked up the basinet and carried it into the kitchen. "Um, Dad? Nora?"

"Oh, my God," Nora exclaimed in surprise as she jumped out of her seat. "Casey wasn't lying?"

"Why would I lie about a thing like this?" Casey asked.

"I figured you'd do anything to make your stepbrother sound bad," Nora explained. "I never guessed you were telling the truth.

"So what do we do about this?" Derek asked as he put the basinet on the kitchen table.

"Okay, what's with the kid?" Edwin asked, looking in the basinet at the crying baby.

"I'm with Edwin," Lizzie said. "Why is there a baby on the table?"

"Apparently, he's your nephew," Casey answered.

"Whose is he?" Lizzie asked.

"And why doesn't he ever shut up?" Edwin complained about the baby's crying.

"Lizzie, Edwin, would you two mind going upstairs?" Nora suggested.

"How come Casey and Derek get to stay?" Lizzie asked.

"And Marti," Edwin added.

"Right. Lizzie, can you take your stepsister with you upstairs?" Nora asked.

"I still don't know why _those two_ get to stay," Lizzie griped as she took Marti by the hand and led her out from under the table.

"It's cause they're going to get yelled at," Edwin figured as he, Lizzie and Marti headed upstairs.

"George," Nora said, "you've been fairly quiet. Are you going to say anything about this?"

"Let me guess: 'boys will be boys?'" Casey said, quoting George's lenient parenting.

In an instant, George pinned Derek to the wall by the shoulders. "What have you done?" George said fiercely.

"George!" Nora shouted, surprised by her husband's behaviour.

"Dad, it's okay," Derek said in his calm and cool attitude.

"No, it's not, Derek," George said, giving his son a rough shake. "You've messed up big time and I don't think you even realize the consequences of this."

"George, please," Nora pleaded.

"Nora, do you realize what he's done? He has a baby sitting on our kitchen table."

"Hey, there's no proof that kid's mine," Derek argued.

"What about this?" George asked, holding up the note.

"An anonymous note is hardly proof," Derek said.

"It's proof enough," George said, throwing the note down on the table and letting go of Derek. "Now go to your room!"

"Gladly," Derek said, heading up the stairs.

"Wait," George said.

"What?" Derek called back.

"Don't forget to take your kid with you."

"You're kidding, right?" Derek said as he came back to the kitchen.

"Nope," George said seriously. "This kid's your responsibility now."

"But Dad—"

"I don't want to hear it, Derek," George said, cutting Derek off. "I may have let you slide in the past, but I am most _certainly_ not letting you get away with this."

"Okay, fine," Derek grumbled as he grabbed the basinet and headed up to his room.

"What are we going to do with that boy?" George asked.

"You could sell him to a circus," Casey suggested. "I think he'd do well as a clown."

"Casey, this is hardly the time for jokes," Nora scolded her daughter. "Now, George, we'll get through this. It's going to be difficult, but it'll be okay."

"You are far too optimistic," George said as he hugged Nora.

"Hey!" Casey shouted. "I just thought of the perfect compliment for you guys."

"That's okay, Casey," Nora said. "We already finished that exercise."

"No, it's really good, I promise."

"As long as it's better than your previous _compliment_," George said.

"It is."

"All right, what is it?" Nora asked.

"You guys look great considering you're both grandparents," Casey said with an amused smile.

"Oh, my God," Nora said. "George, did you hear what she just said?"

"Yeah, I did."

"We haven't even had a mid-life crisis yet and already we're grandparents!"

"Maybe _this_ is our mid-life crisis," George guessed.

"It's possible," Nora agreed. "In which case, you need to go and buy an expensive sports car and I'll hire a Latino pool boy."

"Mom, we don't have a pool," Casey noted.

"Right. George, while you're out getting your spots car order us a pool, okay?"

"You got it."

"I'm going to go check on Derek," Casey said as she headed for the stairs. "If I'm lucky, the kid's spit up on him."

"Casey!" Derek said with relief as he saw her coming down the hallway. Yanking Casey into his room by the arm, Derek asked, "What's wrong with him?"

The baby was crying even louder now, thrashing madly around in his basinet.

"Why would you think I'd know?" Casey questioned.

"Because you're a girl. Girls are supposed to know this kind of stuff."

"You're his dad. Why can't you figure it out?"

"Casey, I will _pay_ you if you help me with this," Derek offered.

Casey scoped the baby up in her arms, reminded of when she'd held Lizzie when she was that small. "What's wrong, kid?" Casey asked in a baby voice. "Are you hungry? … Do you need a nap? … Oh," Casey finally said, realizing the problem.

"What?" Derek asked worriedly. "What is it? Does he want a nap?"

"He needs to be changed," Casey said, handing the baby to Derek.

"Two problems there."

"What are they?"

"Problem one: no diapers."

"Then you better get to the store and get some," Casey ordered.

"Problem two: I don't know how to change a diaper."

"What about Edwin and Marti? Didn't you ever see your parents changing them?"

"I was either at school, hockey practice or reading comics at the time," Derek said.

"You are so a rookie at this," Casey said, taking the baby back from Derek. "Look, you go out and get the diapers and I'll change him when you get back, okay?"

"Thanks, sis," Derek said, slipping on his runners as he dashed out of his room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to dette528, who kindly pointed out that newborns can't drink cow's milk (my bad!), I've decided to rewrite this chapter. I hope you guys like it as much as the original version. And thanks again for the reviews!**

* * *

"Hey, Derek," Emily said as she ran into Derek at the store. 

"Oh, hey, Emily," Derek said absentmindedly as he read the aisle signs.

"What are you shopping for?" Emily asked.

"Nothing," Derek said as he headed for aisle 8, Baby Needs.

"Why are you at a store if you don't need anything?" Emily asked as she followed Derek down the aisle.

"I have no idea," Derek said, as he examined the different brands of diapers.

"Why are you looking at diapers?" Emily asked.

"Uh…" Derek hesitated.

"If your mom and Casey sent you to the store to get something, they're in the next aisle over," Emily said, giving Derek directions to the feminine products.

"Actually, diapers are what I was looking for," Derek said, finally deciding on a package of diapers. "Do you think these are the right ones for newborns?" Derek asked Emily.

"How would I know?"

"I thought women were supposed to have some kind of motherly instinct in them," Derek said. "So far, you women have been useless."

"Why do you need diapers in the first place?"

"Long story," Derek said, heading to the checkout counter with the package of diapers.

"I'm in no hurry," Emily said, following Derek to the counter.

"Someone left a baby on our front porch, okay?" Derek said quickly as the cashier rang through the diapers.

"Are you going to report it to child services?" Emily asked.

"No," Derek said, reaching into his pocket for his wallet. It wasn't there. "Hey, Emily, would you mind lending me a bit of cash?"

"How come?"

"I don't seem to have my wallet with me."

"Okay," Emily said, handing the cashier the money for the diapers. "So if you're not going to report the kid to child services, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to take care of him."

"Why?"

"Because he came with a note," Derek said as he grabbed his shopping bag.

"What'd the note say?"

"It said the kid was mine," Derek said roughly as he left the store and a very stunned Emily behind.

* * *

"I did my part," Derek said to Casey as he opened the package of diapers. Pulling one out and handing it to Casey, he said, "Now you do yours." 

"I'm only doing this if you promise you'll watch and learn."

"Why?"

"Cause I'm not going to be your personnel diaper changer," Casey said as she undid the baby's old diaper.

"What if I paid you?" Derek asked, holding his nose from the smell of the dirty diaper.

"Let's see… no," Casey said, handing Derek the dirty diaper.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Derek asked.

"Throw it away, burn it… I don't really care as long as you get it out of here," Casey replied.

"Got it," Derek said, holding the diaper an arm's length away as he left the room.

"So how do you feel about Spiderman?" Casey asked the baby as she cleaned him up.

The baby started to cry in response.

"Well, apparently your daddy thought you'd like him since he bought you a whole pack of diapers with the web crawler on," Casey explained as she did up the diaper on the baby.

"Okay, the diaper has been disposed of," Derek announced as he came back in the room. "So how is the little guy?"

"He hates Spiderman," Casey said as she handed the baby to Derek.

"How could you hate Spiderman?" Derek asked the baby. "You don't even know what he is."

"Not all boys are destined to be comic book fans, you know," Casey pointed out. "Some of them appreciate the finer things in life."

"Like what?"

"Shakespeare, the ballet, opera…"

"Don't listen to her, you hear?" Derek ordered the baby. "You're a manly kind of guy who's into chilli dogs and action movies."

"And you're a goof, Derek," Casey teased before she left the room.

* * *

Later, Derek headed down to the kitchen with the baby. "Hey, Dad—" 

"I thought I told you to go to your room?"

"Well, technically, I did…"

"There will be no smart talking in this house, young man," George said firmly.

"Okay, to be honest, I didn't come down here for me," Derek explained. Gesturing to the baby in his arms, Derek said, "I came down because of _him_."

"And what would he like?" Nora asked.

"He's hungry," Derek said, "but I'm not sure what to give him to eat."

"You've got to be kidding me," George said with a laugh. "At least when your mother and I had you we knew what to _feed _you."

"He needs milk, Derek," Nora said kindly.

"Great idea," Derek said as he grabbed the milk carton out of the fridge and poured a glass of milk.

"Derek, you can't give a baby a glass of milk," George said.

"And why not?"

"Because a baby doesn't know how to drink from a glass yet."

"And a newborn can't drink cow's milk," Nora added.

"If it's good enough for me it should be good enough for him," Derek reasoned.

"Actually, it's not, Derek," Nora said. "Newborns can get very sick if you feed them cow's milk."

"What do I feed him then?"

"You need baby formula," George said.

"And where would I get that?"

"Derek, you have two younger siblings, how can you be so clueless when it comes to childcare?" Nora questioned.

"I don't know. I'm not used to this kind of stuff. It's foreign territory to me."

"Like your math homework," Casey said as walked into the kitchen. "What's the little guy crying about now?"

"He's hungry, he wants milk, but apparently I can't give it to him in a glass or give him cow's milk. Would you care to offer any advice?"

"Why didn't you just pick some up when you got the diapers?"

"Well, thanks, Casey," Derek said sarcastically. "Now let me get in my time machine and go back to when I was in the store and remember to pick up baby formula."

"What if I go get it?" Casey offered.

"Let Derek do it, Casey," George insisted. "I want him to learn some responsibility around here."

"It's no problem, George," Casey said, already pulling on her jacket. "Derek, do you have money for the formula?"

"Actually, I appear to have lost my wallet. Dad, could I—"

"You're not getting any cash from me," George said.

"Here, you go, Casey," Nora said, handing Casey twenty dollars.

"Thanks, Mom," Casey said as she pocketed the money. "I'll be back in a little while."

Casey headed out the backdoor and began unchaining her bike when she heard Emily call her. "Yeah, Emily?"

"What the heck is going on with your brother?" Emily asked Casey from her back porch.

"What do you mean?"

"He's acting all weird—"

"No, that's how Derek usually behaves."

"I mean weirder than usual," Emily explained. "He says someone left a baby on his porch with a note that said the kid was his."

"Yes, that would be true."

"Why would someone do that? I mean that baby can't be Derek's kid, can it?"

"Hard to say," Casey said. "He does date around a lot."

"But I know he wouldn't do something like this. I just _know_ it."

"Are you sure your crush on him isn't influencing your opinion?" Casey asked.

"No," Emily replied automatically in her defence.

"Hey, Case!" Derek said as he leaned out the back door. "Can I get a rush order on that formula?"

"Oh, sorry, Emily, gotta run," Casey said, straddling her bike and peddling off.

"What was that about?" Emily asked Derek.

"Baby got hungry, baby wanted milk, baby couldn't have cow's milk, Casey gone to store to buy formula, Derek too stressed to use proper grammar," Derek explained before he shut the door. 


	4. Chapter 4

"Baby formula delivery," Casey announced as she entered the kitchen with a grocery bag full of formula.

"Great," Derek said, grabbing a package out of the bag and reading the directions. "Okay, now what do I put this in?"

"What do you mean 'what do I put this in'?" Casey asked.

"Well, Dad said I can't use a glass, so..."

"Gosh, Derek, even Marti knows how to feed a baby," Casey said.

"Where'd she learn that?" Derek asked.

"You know how Marti's always playing with her dolls, right?"

"Yeah."

"What does she use to feed her dolls milk?"

"A bottle," Derek replied before he realized what he'd just said. "I can't believe I forgot that," Derek muttered to himself, surprised by his forgetfulness.

"Only thing is I don't think we have any baby bottles lying around the house," Nora said.

"Actually, we do," George said.

"Really?" Nora said, not sure why the family would keep old baby bottles. "Why?"

"It was cheaper to have Marti use her old baby bottles to feed her dolls than to buy her new toy bottles," George explained.

"Well, that's convenient, don't you think?" Nora said.

"Yeah, sure," Derek said as he scooped up the baby and headed up the stairs. "I've got a bottle to go buy off a six-year-old."

"He is so far from ready for this," Casey said.

"You think?" George and Nora said in unison.

"Smarti," Derek said as he entered his sister's room, "how much do you want for one of your dolls' bottles?"

"My dolls' bottles?" Marti said, confused by Derek's question.

"Yeah, yeah, how much money do you want for one of them?"

"My dolls like their bottles," Marti said. "They're not for sale."

"Oh, man," Derek muttered to himself as he sat down on Marti's bed with the baby.

_I'm bargaining with a six-year-old_, Derek thought to himself.

"Why do you want dolly bottles, Smerek?" Marti asked.

"Because this little guy here," Derek said, bouncing the baby a bit on his knee, "wants some milk. But he needs a bottle to drink the milk from and you're the only one who has any bottles."

"Why didn't you say so?" Marti said, grabbing a baby bottle from her pile of toys. "Super Smarti to the rescue!" Marti shouted, holding the bottle up triumphantly.

"I can have this?" Derek asked about the bottle.

"No," Marti said, pulling the bottle away from Derek.

"Marti, I'm not playing games with you," Derek warned.

"You can't have it cause you're not a baby, Smerek," Marti explained. Handing the bottle to the baby, Marti said, "It's for him."

"Thank you, Smarti. Thank you so much," Derek said as he rushed out of the room.

* * *

"How's bottle-feeding going?" Casey asked as she entered Derek's room.

"It's okay," Derek said, feeding the baby as he sat on his bed. "Not as easy as Marti makes it look though."

"How's that?" Casey asked as she joined Derek on his bed.

"Well, when Marti's feeding her dolls they just sit there perfectly still. This little guy squirms all over the place and has a tendency to drool."

"That's what babies are like. They're a big responsibility," Casey reminded Derek.

"I know, it's just… this isn't my fault," Derek said with a sigh.

"That's so typical," Casey said. "You find out you have a kid and then all of a sudden—"

"Stop," Derek said, covering Casey's mouth with his hand to quiet her.

"Don't do that again," Casey insisted as she removed Derek's hand from her mouth.

"Look, this kid isn't mine, okay?"

"Can you prove that one way or another?"

"Yeah," Derek said. "It's a little thing I like to call abstinence."

"Wait, so you've never…"

"No."

"Really? Cause I just figured with all the girls you gone out with…"

"Believe it or not, Case, I actually want to be _married_ before I do anything."

"How come?"

"Because frankly," Derek said, looking down at the baby in his lap, "the concept of this happening is enough to restrain me."

"Wow," Casey said. "I don't think I've ever met this side of you."

"That's because the only Derek you or anyone else has ever known is a front. He's an image I made for myself, an alter ego."

"Have you ever told your parents this?"

"Just my mom."

"Why just your mom?"

"Well, I was trying to bargain with her to stay with Dad. I told her that the Derek she knew wasn't really me and that I'd be good Derek from then on if her and Dad stayed together. It didn't work, but it did feel good to tell _someone_ the truth about myself."

"I'm sorry," Casey apologized sincerely as she hugged Derek.

"For what?"

"For ever being mean to you or insulting you," Casey explained, letting go of Derek. "I never realized you were so… complex."

"You know you can never tell anyone this, right?"

"What about your dad?"

"I'd rather you not."

"At the very least we have to tell George and Mom that this isn't your baby," Casey said, holding the baby's tiny hand in hers.

"Why?"

"Because he's not your kid. You're not obligated to take care of him. Isn't that what you want?"

"I don't know why this baby wound up on our doorstep, perhaps someone's trying to punish me or maybe some girl out there thought I'd make a good father. I don't know. All I know is that people have never thought of me as a reliable or responsible person and now I'm going to prove them wrong."

"You really want to take care of this kid, don't you?"

"I'm a lot more complex than you'll ever know."

"And I kinda like that about you," Casey said with a smile.


	5. Chapter 5

Casey woke up that morning at four a.m. to the sound of the baby crying. She followed the sound to the kitchen, where she found Derek holding the baby in his arms while he warmed up a bottle of formula.

"What are you doing up?" Casey asked before she yawned tiredly.

"Derek Jr.'s hungry," Derek said, waiting impatiently for the microwave to warm the formula.

"Derek Jr.?" Casey questioned as she walked over to Derek and the baby.

"What else am I supposed to call him?" Derek asked as he pulled the warm bottle out of the microwave, prepared to feed it to the baby.

"What are you doing?" Casey said, grabbing Derek by the wrist to stop him from feeding the baby the bottle.

"I'm giving him baby formula, Case," Derek said, pulling his wrist out of Casey's grasp. "It's what babies like."

"Not when it's burning hot," Casey explained, taking the bottle away from Derek.

"It's not burning hot," Derek argued as he made a grab for the bottle.

"How do you know?" Casey said, keeping the bottle away from Derek.

"Cause I only put it in for ten seconds."

"Well, you're supposed to test it out on your wrist," Casey said.

"Why?"

"So you know it's not too hot. Watch, I'll show you." Casey dripped a few drops of the formula from the bottle onto the inside of her wrist. "Oh, my gosh!" Casey exclaimed as she raced for the sink and ran her wrist under cold water. "Derek, that formula is burning hot!"

"No it's not," Derek disagreed as he took a sip of the formula. Suddenly, Derek spit the hot formula out, throwing the bottle away in disgust. "Okay, you win."

"Honestly, Derek, how long did you microwave that stuff for?" Casey asked as Derek handed her the baby so he could get a drink of cold water from the tap to cool down his mouth.

"Ten seconds," Derek said in between gulping down the cold water.

"You obviously did it longer than that," Casey disagreed.

"I haven't any sleep yet, okay?" Derek grumbled. "Maybe I added an extra zero, I don't know. My head's all messed up from lack of sleep."

"Why haven't you had any sleep?"

Derek looked in the baby's direction. "Let's see… why could I have possibly been up all night?"

"Right," Casey said, realizing why. "Derek Jr."

"Okay, that name's never going to catch on," Derek said, preparing another bottle. "You got anything better?"

"What about Lucas?" Casey suggested.

"Lucas," Derek said, trying the name out. "I like it. Where'd you get it?"

"It just… popped into my head," Casey lied.

"Tell me the truth, Case. Where'd you get the name from?"

"It was my grandfather's name," Casey confessed. "His dying wish was that his name would live on."

"I would've wished to live twenty more years, but that's just me."

"Do you think it's weird if he's named him after my dead grandfather?"

"No weirder than Derek Jr.," Derek said as he popped the bottle in the microwave.

"So that's a no," Casey presumed.

"Yeah," Derek said, taking the baby out of Casey's arms. "Come here, little Lucas."

"Little Lucas," Casey repeated. "That kind of has a ring to it."

"It does, doesn't it?" Derek agreed. "In fact, you know what'd be really cool?"

"What?"

"If he grew to be six foot ten and people still called him Little Lucas."

"That would be funny," Casey said a moment before the microwave chimed.

"Well, looks like bottle number two is ready," Derek said, popping open the microwave and snatching the bottle.

"Don't forget to test it first," Casey instructed.

"I'm pretty sure my burnt mouth won't let me forget," Derek said as he shook the bottle a few times. He then shifted Lucas around in his arms to test the formula on the inside of his wrist.

"How is it?"

"You tell me," Derek said, tossing Casey the bottle.

Casey dripped a hint of formula on the inside of her wrist and smiled. "You did it just right, Derek."

"This surprises you?" Derek said, taking the bottle back and feeding it to Lucas.

"Considering you were going to give Lucas cow's milk in a glass this morning, yes. Yes, this surprises me."

"I'm actually just a quick learner is all," Derek said. "That's why I'm good at hockey. I can pick up a play in a snap."

"Are you going to have time for hockey with Lucas around now?"

"No," Derek said flatly as he continued to feed Lucas.

"Why don't you just tell Mom and George that he's not yours then?" Casey suggested.

"Case, I'm willing to give up hockey and a lot more for Little Lucas here," Derek said firmly.

"Can you at least tell me why?"

"It's complicated," Derek said, turning away from Casey.

"What's so complicated?" Casey asked.

"I can't tell you," Derek said. "I'd love to, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because it's a secret."

"Derek," Casey said soothingly, "I swear I'll never tell another soul."

"You promise?"

"Cross my heart," Casey said, drawing a small x on her chest with her finger.

"It's about… my parents," Derek said slowly.

"What about them?"

"You were right at breakfast," Derek said. "I didn't inherit my hyjinx genes from my dad."

"How do you know that?" Casey asked curiously.

"Because I didn't inherit _any_ genes from my dad. Nor my mom."

"But as your parents—"

"That's just the point, Casey. They're _not _my parents."

"They're not?"

"No. Look this is really quite complicated and we both need to get to bed…"

"Just tell me already," Casey urged.

"Fine, you really want to know?" Derek said, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"Yes," Casey said, taking a seat beside Derek.

"In short, I'm adopted."


	6. Chapter 6

"You're what?" Casey asked, surprised by what Derek had just said.

"I'm adopted," Derek repeated. "That's why I want to take care of Lucas."

"How does you being adopted have to do with you wanting to take care of Lucas?"

"Because my real parents didn't want me," Derek explained. "They dropped me off at a hospital under the safe haven law."

"That's why you want to take care of Lucas," Casey concluded. "It's because you used to be in his situation."

"Exactly. If Abby and George hadn't come along, who knows what would've happened to me."

"I never realized you had such a complicated past," Casey said, shocked by what Derek had just told her.

"You promised not to tell anyone though," Derek reminded Casey.

"I know," Casey said, remembering her promise. "So when did your parents finally tell you?"

"They didn't," Derek replied. "I eavesdropped on them talking once and heard them discussing whether or not they should tell me about it. They finally decided _not_ to tell me, but I'd already heard the whole thing."

"Your parents don't know you know this?"

"Nope. That's why I can't tell my dad that Lucas isn't mine because then he'll start asking questions like why I want to keep him…"

"And then you'd have to tell him that you know you're adopted."

"You're getting pretty good at finishing my sentences," Derek said. "You want to try to finish this one?"

"Okay," Casey said, up for the challenge.

Derek, while still feeding Lucas, leaned over to Casey and kissed her on the lips.

"Um…"

"That's exactly how I would've finished it," Derek said with a smile.

* * *

_Brrrrrrrrrring!_

Casey's alarm clock went off the next morning, waking her with a start. "Lousy alarm clock," Casey said, hitting the snooze button and getting back to remembering her dream from the night before.

She had awoken to the sound of the baby crying, the baby she'd named Lucas, and followed the sound to the kitchen. There she'd found Derek warming up a bottle for Lucas, which he ended up warming for too long and nearly burned her wrist. But none of that seemed to matter to Casey; the only thing that mattered was that Derek had kissed her.

"Only in my dreams," Casey sighed to herself as she got out of bed.

"Morning, Casey," Lizzie said to her older sister as Casey entered the kitchen.

"Oh," Casey said, snapping out of her thoughts. "Morning, Lizzie."

"What were you thinking about?" Lizzie asked.

"Nothing," Casey said as she grabbed a couple slices of bread from the bagged loaf on the counter and put them in the toaster.

"You were obviously thinking about _something_," Lizzie observed.

"I was thinking about how annoying little sisters can be," Casey teased.

"Ha-ha, Casey," Lizzie replied dryly.

"Hey, Lizzie, Casey," Edwin said as he came downstairs to the kitchen. "Have you seen Legsie?"

"Who or _what_ is a Legsie?" Casey asked worriedly.

"It's my pet frog," Edwin explained. "When I woke up and checked his box, he was gone."

"Well, I certainly haven't seen him," Lizzie answered Edwin.

"And I would like to know since when did you have a pet frog?" Casey asked.

"Since last week," Edwin replied. "I was down at the pond with my pals and there was this big frog hopping all over the place and the guys dared me to try to catch it—"

"Get to the point, Edwin," Lizzie ordered.

"I don't have to take orders from you!" Edwin shot back.

"Get to the point," Casey said, repeating her little sister.

"Yes, ma'am," Edwin said.

"Sure, you'll listen to her, but you won't listen to me," Lizzie grumbled.

"Quiet, Lizzie. Now what is this about your frog?"

"I caught him, I brought him home, I put him in a shoebox and now he's escaped. Anyone seen him?"

"Wait, you're saying there's a slimy frog hopping madly around this house?" Casey said, slightly panicked.

"Yeah," Edwin replied, heading off to check the living room. "Tell me if you see him."

"If I find him, I'm sending him back to the pond," Casey threatened as her toast popped up. She grabbed her toast and a plate from out of the cupboard and headed over to sit at the table with Lizzie. "So how'd you sleep last night?" Casey asked before taking a bite out of her toast.

"Miserably," Lizzie moaned. "I was up half the night hearing that baby cry his head off. What is the deal with that baby anyway?"

"Long story," Casey said, dismissing her sister's question. "But that's weird that you had such a miserable sleep."

"Why?"

"Because I had a great sleep."

"Really?"

"Yep. And I had a wonderful dream…" Casey said, reminiscing her dream.

"Look who's here," Derek announced as he came into the kitchen with the baby. "It's Little Lucas."

"Little Lucas," Casey said happily to herself. "Wait, what did you say?" Casey snapped at Derek.

"I said Little Lucas was here. Why? Do you not like the name?" Derek asked.

"No, it's just… last night really happened?"

"Okay, what happened last night?" Lizzie asked.

"Nothing. Go to your room," Casey ordered.

"You're not the boss of me," Lizzie argued, reaching to take a sip of her orange juice.

Derek waited until Lizzie took a sip of her drink before saying, "You know I drank from the carton that orange juice came from, right?"

Lizzie quickly spat what she had just drunk back into her glass. "Excuse me," Lizzie said, heading up the stairs. "I'm going to go rinse my mouth out… fifty times!"

"Apparently she doesn't like drinking juice from the same carton as someone else. Go figure."

"Back to last night," Casey said. "All that stuff you said to me about your parents and Little Lucas and… and that last thing—"

"The kiss?" Derek finished for Casey as he walked over to her.

"Yeah. That all happened?"

"Unless you want to pretend it didn't."

"No, I just thought it was a dream was all."

"Why'd you think it was a dream?"

"Because something like that could never happen in real life," Casey explained.

"Oh, really?" Derek asked, now only inches away from Casey.

"Really," Casey confirmed.

"Well, I hate to say you're wrong, sis, but… you're wrong," Derek said before leaning down to Casey and kissing her.

"Derek, have you seen— ew, gross!" Edwin shouted as he came back to the kitchen to find his brother and stepsister in mid-kiss.

"Edwin," Derek said warningly. "How much of that did you see?"

"Why do you think I said 'ew, gross'?" Edwin said.

"Hold him," Derek said, handing Lucas to Casey.

"What are you planning to do, Derek?" Edwin asked as he backed out of the kitchen.

Derek wet his index finger in his mouth and said, "Ever heard of a wet willy?"

"Derek, don't you dare!" Edwin shouted, racing out of the room with his brother hot on his tracks. "I'll tell Dad and Nora," Edwin threatened.

"Like they have time to care about your wet ear," Derek said.

"If I didn't know any better," Casey said to herself, "I'd say everything was just like normal around here."

At that moment, Lucas, who was currently sitting on Casey's lap, started to whine.

"Almost."

* * *

**In case you hadn't noticed yet, this is now a Dasey. Apparently you guys are really big fans of those fics, so I'm happy to deliver!**

**-- Carly **


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks so much for your reviews, guys! Your ****encouragement ****means a lot to me!**

* * *

"Hey, Casey, what are you doing?" Nora asked as she and George entered the kitchen in their pyjamas. 

"Lucas is hungry," Casey said, holding Lucas in her arms as she prepared a bottle of formula.

"Why isn't Derek taking care of that?" George asked.

"He's busy with Edwin," Casey explained. "Besides, I don't mind getting Lucas a bottle. It's sort of fun taking care of a baby. It's like taking care of Lizzie again."

"Yes, but I want Derek to do it, Casey," George insisted.

"Come on, George," Nora persuaded, "if Casey enjoys taking care of the kid, why not let her?"

"Because Derek got himself into this mess and now he has to deal with it."

"It's not his fault, you know," Casey said, putting the bottle in the microwave.

"How is this not his fault?" George asked.

"For starters, Lucas isn't his kid," Casey said, not even thinking of her earlier promise not to tell.

"He's not?" Nora and George questioned.

"Well, Edwin's been dealt with," Derek said, walking into the kitchen dusting his hands off. "So how is my little guy?" Derek asked as he took Lucas from Casey.

The microwave dinged and Casey quickly pulled out the bottle and handed it to Derek. "He's hungry."

"Thanks, Case," Derek said, shaking the bottle and testing it on the inside of his wrist like a pro. "It's a little bit warm. It's still okay to give to him, but next time you may want to go a couple seconds less."

"Just feed him already," Casey ordered.

Derek did as Casey had said and gave Lucas his bottle, which quickly quieted his crying.

"Derek, could I ask you a question?" George asked.

"Go ahead, Dad."

"Is that baby really yours?"

"Of course," Derek said, upholding his lie. "Why wouldn't he be?"

"Well, Casey just said that—"

"Casey," Derek said, looking sternly over at her. "Can I speak to you for a moment in the living room?"

"Um… okay," Casey said, following him out of the room.

"Are you an idiot?" Derek shouted at his stepsister as the two arrived in the living room.

"No. Why are you yelling?" Casey asked calmly.

"Oh, so you just want to see me get in trouble then?" Derek shouted even louder.

"No," Casey said again. "Look, what are we even talking about?"

"What part of 'don't tell Dad and Nora the baby's not mine' _didn't_ you get?"

Casey gasped as she suddenly remembered her promise. "Oops," Casey said, covering her mouth. "I told them, didn't I?"

"Yep," Derek said, heading back to the kitchen. "So if you want to see me get in trouble, then please… follow me back to the kitchen."

"Derek, I didn't mean to tell them," Casey tried to apologize as she went with her stepbrother into the other room. "It just slipped out."

"Is it or isn't it?" George asked as the two came back to the kitchen.

"What would you say if he is?" Derek asked.

"You're an idiot for letting this happen and _I'm_ an idiot for letting you off the hook all your life."

"And if he isn't mine?"

"Why would you want to take care of the child if he's notyours?" Nora asked.

"Do unto others as you would have done unto you," George said simply.

"You know, huh?" Derek asked, looking up at his dad.

"Same goes for you," George replied.

"What are you two talking about?" Nora asked.

"Come on, Mom," Casey said, leading her mom upstairs. "You can help me finish my homework from last night."

"You didn't finish last night's homework?" Nora questioned, slightly worried.

"So when did you find out?" George asked Derek.

"When I was eight," Derek replied. "I was eavesdropping on you and Mom when you were talking alone in your room. I heard you guys discussing whether or not to tell me about it."

"We finally decided against it because we wanted you to grow up in a happy family without the thought that you were adopted hanging over your head."

"Dad, you and Mom are divorced. You got remarried without fully consulting me and now I have a stepmom and two very annoying stepsisters. How is that a happy family scenario?"

"Admittedly, you have a point there," George admitted. "But if you hadn't eavesdropped on your mother and me at least you wouldn't have known you were adopted."

"What would've happened to him then?" Derek asked as continued to feed Lucas.

"What _will_ happen to him is we're going to find his mother and return him."

"But, Dad—"

"I don't want any buts, Derek. He's not your child and you are _not_ old enough to take on the responsibility."

"But I can handle this," Derek argued.

"I've already made up my mind, Derek," George said firmly.

"So have I," Derek said, leaving the room and heading upstairs.

* * *

"Where are you going?" Casey asked as she walked by Derek's room and caught him packing a suitcase.

"My mom's," Derek replied, tossing in some crumpled up T-shirts.

"Why?" Casey asked as she went over to Derek.

"Because my dad's an idiot," Derek said resentfully. "He thinks that just because this kid isn't mine, I shouldn't take care of him."

"Well, he sort of has a point there," Casey said.

"So you're siding with the enemy then?" Derek said as he packed the baby diapers.

"I'm not siding with anyone," Casey corrected him. "All I'm saying is you can't possibly manage school and take care of a baby."

"I'll quit school then."

"You can't quit school," Casey said. "Mom and George won't let you."

"I'm not going to be living under this roof much longer, so why should I care what they think?" Derek said angrily as he slammed his suitcase shut.

"So that's it?" Casey said, slightly disappointed. "You're just leaving?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Derek said as he scooped up his suitcase and Lucas's basinet.

"What about… _us_?"

"What us? There is no us."

"But the kiss last night. And this morning in the kitchen—"

"I was caught up in the moment," Derek said, quickly making up an excuse.

"I thought I liked this new side of you," Casey said, storming out of the room. "Now I find out it's even worse than the old you!"

"Way to go, Derek," Derek mocked himself, putting down his suitcase and the basinet. He went across the hall and knocked on Casey's door.

"Who is it?" Casey asked.

"It's me," Derek said.

Casey opened the door and said, "Pardon me if I slam this door in your face. It's cause I'm _caught up in the moment_." Casey then slammed the door in Derek's face.

_Gotta love Casey's temper_, Derek thought to himself as he knocked on her door again.

"Go away, Derek!" Casey shouted.

"Look," Derek said, opening the door and letting himself in, "I'm sorry about what I said back there."

"I'm not," Casey said sarcastically. "In fact, I'm relieved you said it. Because if you hadn't said it then that would mean I meant something to you and I'd hate to think I meant something to you."

"Casey," Derek said softly as he reached out to tuck one of Casey's stray hairs behind her ear.

Casey quickly pulled away. "Don't ever touch me again."

"I said I was sorry," Derek said sincerely.

"Well, I don't forgive you!" Casey yelled at her stepbrother.

"In that case, I'm glad I'm moving out," Derek said aggressively. "Then I never have to see you again!"

"Good! Because I never want to see _you_ again either!"

"I'm glad we finally agree on something," Derek ranted.

"Me too!" Casey shouted a moment before she and Derek fell into each other's arms, kissing passionately. "I don't – really – hate you," Casey said in-between kisses.

"Me – neither," Derek agreed.

"Are you – still – leaving?" Casey asked.

"Yep," Derek replied.

"Then let's make this morning count," Casey said as she and Derek tumbled down onto her bed.


	8. Chapter 8

"You're late," Emily said as Casey met her at the street corner so the two could walk to school together. "What took you so long?"

"Derek and I…" Casey began, not sure whether or not to tell Emily what had happened.

"Derek and you what?" Emily inquired.

"I was helping him pack," Casey lied, knowing that in reality she and Derek had just spent the past half-hour making out on her bed.

"Pack for what?"

"He moved out."

"Why?"

"Because George was getting all upset about Derek keeping Lucas, so Derek just packed up and left," Casey explained.

"Who's Lucas?"

"Derek's baby."

"So it really _is_ his baby?"

"No," Casey said, blurting out the truth again. "But it's a really long story and I don't have time to tell you right now."

"It's a ten-minute walk to school," Emily reminded her friend. "How long could your story _possibly_ be?"

"Couldn't we talk about something else?" Casey begged.

"Like what?"

"Well…" Casey said, racking her brain for a conversation topic, "who's the hottest guy you know?"

"Derek."

"I should've seen that one coming."

"What about you?" Emily asked.

"Derek," Casey said before thinking.

"You think Derek's hot?" Emily questioned Casey.

"Joking!" Casey lied, laughing the incident off. "Why would I ever think my stepbrother was hot?"

"Phew," Emily said with a sigh of relief. "For a moment there, I thought there was some weird stepsibling love thing going on."

_You have no idea_, Casey thought with a smile.

* * *

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Abby Venturi shouted as she raced to her front door, towards the sound of the incessant doorbell ringing. "Have some patience, would you?" Abby complained as she opened the door.

"Hey, Mom," Derek said as he stood on the front porch, a suitcase in one hand and a baby in a basinet in the other.

"Derek?" Abby said, convinced her own eyes were deceiving her. "What are you doing here?"

"I was kinda hoping I could stay here," Derek said.

"Well, of course," Abby said, gesturing for Derek to come in. "Would you mind if I asked what was with the baby?"

"He's mine," Derek said, putting his things down in the front hall. Scooping the baby up from the basinet and into his arms, he said, "His name's Lucas."

"So I take it your dad threw you out when he found out about him?" Abby guessed as she shut the front door.

"Sort of. He told me that I had to find the mother and have her take care of the baby because I'm not responsible enough."

"Wait a minute," Abby said. "You're telling me that not only did you get a girl pregnant, but you don't even know _what_ girl you got pregnant?"

"Uh… yeah," Derek said, continuing with his lie.

"Oh, boy," Abby sighed to herself. "I guess you can just make yourself at home then."

"Thanks, Mom," Derek said, heading towards the guest room.

"If you need me, I'll be at work," Abby called down the hall.

"Okay!" Derek shouted back.

"I always knew that boy was going to get into trouble," Abby said to herself as she grabbed her purse and headed out the door. "I just thought he'd end up doing _time_, not diaper changes."

* * *

"All right, class, this week's assignment is on raising a child," Mr. Hackman, the health class instructor, said as he gestured to a table full of diapered sacks of flour.

"You've got to be kidding me," Casey said quietly to herself.

"What?" Emily asked as she leaned over to Casey.

"This is so an easy A."

"How's that?"

"Because I already know how to take care of a _real _baby. And all Mr. Hackman wants me to do is take care of a sack of flour."

"Miss MacDonald," Mr. Hackman said, "is there something you would care to share with the class?"

"No, Mr. Hackman," Casey replied, sinking down in her seat out of embarrassment.

"Well, if something is important enough to be said _during_ class, then it must be important enough to say _to_ the class."

"It's not," Casey said.

"Then why don't we get back to the class assignment, hmm?"

"Yes, Mr. Hackman."

"Now as I was saying…"

"He is such a pain," Emily whispered to Casey.

"Tell me about it."

* * *

"What can I do for you today, Casey?" Paul, the guidance counsellor, asked as Casey walked into his office.

"I need some advice," Casey said as she took her usual seat.

"I'm here to help. What's wrong this time?"

"It's about my brother. You know, Derek."

"Who is about the only person you ever come in here to talk about."

"Right. Well, yesterday morning a baby in a basinet wound up on our front porch. The baby came with a note saying that it was Derek's."

"_Is_ it Derek's?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Casey said confidently.

"Why's that?"

"Because Derek told me that he's a believer in abstinence." Noticing the surprised look on Paul's face, Casey said, "I know, it shocked me too the first time I heard it."

"So has he called child services?" Paul asked. "Tried to find the mother?"

"Neither."

"Why not?"

"He wants to keep the kid, believe it or not."

"I never pictured your stepbrother as the type that would raise a kid, especially one that wasn't his own."

"I never pictured my stepbrother as my boyfriend, but—"

"Wait, your _what_?"

"I'm getting too ahead of myself. You see, last night Derek told me about how his real parents dropped him off at a hospital under the safe haven law and how his current parents, George and Abby, adopted him. That's why Derek wants to take care of Lucas."

"Lucas being the baby," Paul concluded.

"Precisely. Well, after Derek told me all this, he kissed me on the cheek and then I headed back to bed since it was getting late. Did I mention how late it was? It was four a.m. But that's not important. What's important is that this morning Derek and I kissed _again_ at breakfast and we wouldn't have stopped had his little brother not walked in. But then Derek started packing and told me he was moving out to his mom's and I didn't know what to do, so I started yelling at him and then he yelled back at me and before we knew it the anger in our fight turned into full out passion and we started making out on my bed!"

Paul, whose jaw was hanging open as he heard Casey's story, quickly shut his mouth and asked, "How am I supposed to respond to that?"

"Tell me what to do!" Casey shouted.

"First, get a psychiatrist because your problems are _way_ above my level of expertise."

"I thought you were supposed to help students. Give them advice."

"If you want help with your next math test, I'm the guy. But figuring out what to do about being in love with your adopted stepbrother, who's moved out of the house and is caring for someone else's baby because it was dropped at your doorstep… I can't help you with that."

"Then what good are you?" Casey shot back, getting out of her seat.

"Casey, I—"

"I don't even want to hear it, Paul," Casey said as she headed for the door. "I used to think you could help me, now I realize you're nothing but a fraud!" With this, Casey slammed the door shut behind her as she left.


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry, I didn't update sooner! However, I made this chapter nice and long to make up for my late updating. Hope you guys enjoy it!**

**

* * *

**That night around two a.m., Casey woke up to the sound of her alarm. "Stupid health class assignment," Casey griped tiredly as she got up, grabbed her sack of flour and headed downstairs.

After warming up a bottle of regular milk, Casey shook the bottle and tested it on her wrist as she had done with Lucas. "This is so unrealistic," Casey muttered to herself as she held the bottle to the sack of flour.

A moment later, the phone rang.

"Who would be calling at two in the morning?" Casey wondered as she answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Casey, how long are you supposed to heat the bottle for?" Emily asked on the other line.

"Why are you calling at this hour?" Casey asked.

"Well, I knew you'd be up cause of the assignment, so I figured I could call and ask how long to heat the bottle."

"And what makes you think I'd know?"

"Because you're the most organized person on the planet, who I know for a fact would never lose the assignment instruction sheet like her best friend."

"Fine," Casey grumbled, wanting to finish the conversation and get back to bed as quickly as possible. "You put the bottle in for about six seconds, shake it a few times and then test it on the inside of your wrist to see if it's too hot."

"Thanks, Case," Emily said. "You are a _lifesaver_."

"Whatever," Casey said tiredly. "I need to get to bed."

"Right. See you tomorrow!"

"Okay," Casey said, hanging up the phone. Turning back to the sack of flour, Casey said, "That should be enough milk for you right now."

After drinking the warm milk herself (since the sack of flour obviously _couldn't_), Casey tossed the bottle into the sink and headed back to bed.

"I cannot _imagine_ what Derek is going through right now with Lucas," Casey said as she laid the sack of flour down in a doll crib that she borrowed from Marti. Casey crawled back into bed and shut her eyes, quickly falling back to sleep.

* * *

An hour later, Casey awoke to her ringing bedside phone.

"Hello?" Casey said groggily as she picked up the phone.

"Hey, Casey. How's my favourite stepsister?"

"Derek? Do you know what time it is?"

"Well, I just got Lucas to bed so I figured I'd give you guys a call. It's not too late, is it?"

Casey glanced over at her clock. "It's three in the morning."

"Oh, my bad. Sorry. I've lost all sense of time ever since I started taking care of Lucas."

"That's okay," Casey said, sitting up in bed and yawning. "So how's your mom's place working out?"

"It's all right, I guess. Lucas seems okay with the place and my mom seems okay with Lucas, except for the fact I don't know who his mother is."

"Why does that matter to her?"

"Because I told her Lucas was mine."

"Derek, for God's sake, quit trying to be a martyr and telling people Lucas is yours. Just tell them the truth."

"Boy, you're cranky in the middle of the night," Derek remarked.

"Look, I already told Emily Lucas wasn't yours."

"What'd you do that for?" Derek asked.

"Don't worry," Casey said. "I also told her I thought you were the hottest guy I knew, so I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm nuts."

"You think I'm the hottest guy you know?"

"Of course," Casey replied. "Not to mention, you're a pretty good kisser too."

"Okay, you have got to promise you'll come over tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Cause I am going crazy over here without you. I'm going through Casey-kissing withdrawal."

"I'll see you tomorrow then," Casey promised.

"I guess I should let you go," Derek said, preparing to hang up the phone.

"You could stay on the phone till I fall asleep, if you want," Casey suggested.

"Sure," Derek agreed. "I can count sheep for you."

"That'd be great," Casey said, putting the phone down and lying back down in her bed.

"One sheep," Derek said slowly. "Two sheep. Three sheep."

"Goodnight, Derek," Casey said as she shut her eyes.

"Goodnight, Casey," Derek softly. "Four sheep…"

* * *

"So how's your flour?" Emily asked as she and Casey walked to school the next morning.

"_What_?" Casey asked, quite confused by the question.

"Your baby flour," Emily said, gesturing to the sack of flour in Casey's backpack.

"Oh. He's good. Had to feed him last night."

"I know. I called you, remember?"

"That's right. You called me right before…" Casey said, letting her sentence hang.

"Right before who?"

"No one. It doesn't matter. How's your flour?" Casey said, quickly trying to change the subject.

"She's good," Emily replied. "I named her Jessica after the pet gerbil I had when I was five. Does yours have a name?"

"I think I'll name him Phil," Casey said, thinking a name up on the spot.

"Why Phil?"

"Because I read it off that real estate ad on the bench over there," Casey said, pointing to the ad.

"You _really_ put a lot of effort into that name, didn't you?"

"Okay, okay," Casey said, taking a moment to think up a new name. "I'll name him DJ."

"Like a disc jockey?"

_Like Derek Jr._, Casey thought.

* * *

After arriving at school, Casey and Emily split up to go to their lockers. As Casey headed towards her locker, she ran into Paul.

"Look, I know I wasn't much help yesterday, but—"

"That's okay, Paul," Casey said. "I was just cranky yesterday. Whatever I said to you, I didn't mean it."

"Oh," Paul said, slightly disappointed. "Okay."

"What's wrong?" Casey asked.

"Well, it's just that I actually came up with some advice for you yesterday after you left my office, but I guess you don't need it anymore."

"I can always use your advice."

"In that case," Paul said, fishing through his briefcase, "I have something for you."

"And what would that be?"

Paul pulled a journal out of his briefcase and handed it to Casey.

"A diary?" Casey said, examining the journal. "I hate to tell you, Paul, but I already have one of these."

"No, this is a journal."

"Journal, diary… same sort of thing."

"Not exactly. See with this journal whenever you're feeling angry or upset about something, I want you to write it down on the page, rip the page out and burn it."

"Isn't that a waste of paper?"

"Well... yes. But it's a great technique and you should really try it."

"What is burning paper going to do for me?"

"That way you're anger goes up in flames with the paper and you're no longer angry," Paul explained.

"Thank you, Paul," Casey said, slipping the journal into her backpack. "I'll make sure to try that."

"Be sure you do," Paul said before Casey headed over to her locker.

"What was that about?" Emily asked as she met Casey at her locker.

"Paul giving me weird advice again. He says I'm supposed to write in this journal when I'm angry, tear out the page and then burn it."

"Seriously?"

"Hey, I said it was weird advice," Casey said as she shut her locker and headed for class.

* * *

"So how did all of you do with your assignments yesterday?" Mr. Hackman asked.

"Fine," the class droned.

"You kids realize this is an important part of life, right?" Mr. Hackman pointed out. "That one day you'll end up having to take care of your own child and you had better know what you're doing."

"Sign me up for the convent," Emily whispered to Casey.

Casey sniggered at her friend's joke.

"Miss MacDonald, is there something you find funny about what I'm saying?"

"No," Casey said.

"Oh, but you seemed so amused. Why don't you tell the class all about it?"

"Why don't you quit picking on me?" Casey shot back.

Mr. Hackman quickly wrote a note down on a pink-coloured slip and handed it to Casey. "Why don't _you_ take this to the principal's office?"

"I'm being sent to the principal's office?" Casey said in shock as she accepted the slip from her teacher.

"Yes, that would be what the slip says. Now do leave. I have students in this class that actually _want_ to learn."

"No, you don't!" a boy piped up from the back of the classroom.

"I heard that," Mr. Hackman replied.

"I'm sorry," Emily apologized as Casey got out of her seat and headed for the door.

"I cannot believe I'm being sent to the principal's office," Casey said to herself as she left the classroom. "I must still be dreaming. Come on, Casey, wake up."

As Casey stood before the principal's office door, she glanced down the hallway and noticed the exit.

"Hmm…" Casey thought to herself. "Maybe I should just head over to Derek's early."

* * *

Casey stood at Derek's front door and rang the bell. "Maybe this is wrong," Casey thought to herself. "Maybe I should just go back to school and meet with the principal and go back to class—"

"Casey?" Derek said as he answered the door.

"Hey, Der—" Casey said a moment before Derek pulled her in for a passionate kiss.


	10. Chapter 10

"I missed you," Derek said

"I missed you," Derek said.

"Yeah," Casey said, licking her lips with delight. "I could, um, tell."

"Do you want to come in?"

"Sure."

Derek led Casey into the house, taking her backpack for her and tossing it on the couch. "So what are you doing here at… 10 am?" Derek asked, checking the time on his watch.

"Mr. Hackman was giving me a rough time, so I decided to ditch."

"Wow," Derek said, slightly surprised. "I've obviously had a bad influence on you."

"Yes, you have," Casey agreed jokingly. "So how's Lucas doing?"

"He's adapted to this place better than I expected."

"How's that?"

"I'll show you," Derek said, leading Casey to his room and over to Lucas's basinet. "See?"

Casey peeked into the basinet and found Lucas sound asleep. "How long has he been sleeping?"

"Three hours," Derek said happily. "Three beautiful, continuous hours."

"I guess it's because it's quieter here," Casey said. "No kids running around screaming."

"It's too quiet, if you ask me. I almost miss the screaming and the yelling and the fighting…"

"I think _we_ covered most of the fighting," Casey said to Derek as they left the room and headed into the front hall.

"In that case…" Derek said with a devious grin, "that shirt makes you look fat."

"What are you doing?" Casey asked.

"Roll with me here," Derek instructed.

"_Okay_," Casey said awkwardly, not sure what they were doing. "Um… what do you mean this shirt makes me look fat?"

"Well, maybe it doesn't make you look _that_ fat, but you've got to admit it's pretty ugly."

"Hey, I happen to really like this shirt!" Casey shouted in protest.

"Where'd you get it? The dump?"

"No," Casey argued, "I got it at the mall. It was thirty dollars."

"Ouch," Derek mocked. "You should get your money back."

"Now I remember why I hate you," Casey said as she grabbed her backpack off the couch. "It's because you're such an insulting, pig-headed dirt bag!"

Suddenly, before Casey even realized what she was doing, she slammed her backpack into Derek's shoulder and an instant explosion of flour burst out of her bag.

"Oh, no!" Casey cried as she opened her backpack to examine the condition of her school assignment. "Please be all right."

"What's in there?" Derek asked as he dusted the flour off of himself.

"My flour baby," Casey said as she took the bag of flour out of her backpack. "Which is apparently now a package that _used to_ contain flour."

"I'm sorry?" Derek said, hoping the words would make the situation better.

"I'm going to fail now. You know that, right?" Casey asked Derek miserably. "All because you said my shirt was ugly."

"I really am sorry, Case. I just wanted to have one of our classic fights, you know? Remind me of the good times."

"Oh, grow up, Derek," Casey ordered as she took the remains of her flour baby and dumped it in the trash.

"Is there anything I can do to make this up to you?" Derek asked. "Anything?"

"Got any flour?"

* * *

After Casey replaced her flour baby with a bag of Abby's flour, she sat down on the couch with Derek. "Well, I've got to admit: although you did cause this whole problem, you _did_ manage to fix it."

"I say the universe was looking out for you. How else can you explain that my mom buys the same brand of flour as Mr. Hackman did for the assignment?"

"Luck, Derek," Casey answered. "Pure luck."

"So do you forgive me for insulting your shirt?" Derek asked.

"If you forgive me for hitting you with a backpack full of flour," Casey bargained.

"Done."

"Well, I'm glad that's over," Casey said, relieved. "I like it a lot better when we're civil as opposed to us fighting."

"Same here," Derek agreed. "Although fighting with you is kind of hot."

"Seriously?"

"Absolutely! Fighting with you is like playing the topless level of Babe Raider."

"Gross analogy," Casey said, "but flattering comment. I think."

"You wanna hear my next comment?"

"Sure."

Derek pressed his lips up against Casey's in a passionate kiss.

"You have the…" Casey began to compliment.

"Best kiss in the world?"

"I was going to say you have the most interesting wordless comments ever," Casey corrected. "But the kiss one's pretty good too."

That afternoon, when Abby came home from work, she found Derek and Casey watching an animated children's movie with Lucas.

"Hey, Mom," Derek called to Abby as he heard her enter. "How was work?"

"As miserable as work can be expected," Abby replied as she came over to the couch. "So who's your friend here?"

"This is Casey," Derek introduced.

"I'm his girlfriend," Casey added.

"Is she—" Abby tried to ask.

"No," Derek quickly responded.

"No what?" Casey asked as she lightly bounced Lucas on her knee.

"No nothing, Case."

"I was just going to ask—"

"Mom," Derek interrupted.

"If that baby was yours," Abby finished, ignoring Derek's interruption.

"Oh, no," Casey said with a laugh. "This baby's neither of ours. He just showed up on the doorstep a few days ago."

"Really?"

"Yeah, why? Did you think this was really Derek's baby?"

"Casey, have you ever heard the term _blabbermouth_?"

"Wait," Casey said. "You didn't tell her yet?"

"Not exactly," Derek replied.

"Um… double oops?" Casey said sheepishly.

"Derek, why are you—"

"Look, Mom, I already explained this all to Dad, so I might as well tell you," Derek began. "You see, when I was eight years old…"

"I'll just be leaving," Casey said as she handed Derek Lucas and went out the door.

* * *

"Did you know about this?" Abby shouted into the receiver, nearly deafening George on the other end. "Did you know that our son knew about his adoption and that now he's taken on raising someone else's kid?"

"Short answer, yes," George replied.

"And you just _let_ him do this?"

"No," George said, "I threw him out of the house."

"So, what, he could come crawling to _my_ doorstep with someone else's kid?"

"I really didn't know he'd go to you," George answered honestly. "I thought he'd give the kid up before he'd go over to your place."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Abby asked, sounding offended.

"Nothing, I just didn't think he'd go to you—"

"God, I am so glad I divorced you."

"Why's that?"

"Because you are constantly talking with your foot in your mouth."

"Yeah, Nora tells me that one a lot," George said.

"Oh, that's brilliant, George," Abby said sarcastically. "Please, do tell me, your ex-wife, more about your current wife."

"Right. Foot in mouth."

"And you know what else happened today?"

"What?"

"Derek had a girl over while I was at work."

"_That_ doesn't really surprise me."

"She was the one who actually told me about the kid not being Derek's. That the kid just showed up on your porch," Abby explained.

"What girl was it then?" George asked, wondering what girl was willing to go out with Derek now that he had a kid, not to mention knew how the baby arrived.

"What do you mean 'what girl'?" Abby asked rhetorically. "His girlfriend. And don't worry, I asked. Not the mom."

"What was her name?" George pressed.

"Something that ended in an E sound. Like Lacey or Macy…"

"Casey?"

"Yeah, that was it," Abby answered. "Why?"

"Doesn't matter," George said, not wanting to have to explain to Abby that Casey was his stepdaughter. "Look, I should go. I've still got four kids left over here to take care of."

"Talk to you later then. … Unfortunately."

"You too," George said before he hung up the phone.

"I'm home!" Casey announced as she came through the front door.

"Casey," George said as he left the kitchen and entered the front hall. "Could we talk?"

"About what?" Casey asked innocently.

"About… boys."

"Don't worry, George," Casey said, "Mom's already had this talk with me."

"I don't think she has."

"Why? What's in your version?"

"It involves you and Derek."

"What about me and Derek?"

"Are you two _dating_?"

Suddenly, Casey's backpack strap slipped from her hand and her backpack fell to the floor as a foul four-letter word escaped her lips.


	11. Chapter 11

"Casey!" Nora reprimanded as she came down the stairs. "I thought I taught you better language than that."

"I know, Mom, it's just—"

"Come on, Nora," George said, covering for Casey. "You know teens today. Everyone talks like that."

"Ew," Nora said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Teens actually talk like that?"

"You bet, Mom," Casey said hurriedly. "All the time."

"Perhaps I should transfer you and Derek to a different school. One with a little more… class," Nora thought aloud as she headed towards the kitchen, to the basement door to her room.

"Speaking of you and Derek…"

"Fine, but if I tell you anything you have got to swear, SWEAR that you won't tell anyone else, okay?" Casey said louder and angrier than she'd intended.

"I can't promise that."

"Why not?"

"Because if you are in fact dating your stepbrother, I wouldn't feel right keeping that from your mother."

"Then why should I tell you anything?" Casey asked indignantly.

George smirked and said, "Maybe because I just talked to Abby on the phone a couple minutes ago?"

Casey took a moment to try to think of a response to George's remark, but finally gave up, saying, "Okay, you win."

"It's nice to hear that. I mean, I get that at court all the time, but at home…"

"You couldn't possibly have won that many cases," Casey argued.

"Well, I did," George said, tossing his arm around Casey's shoulders and leading her up the stairs. "And you know how?"

"How?"

"'Cause I'm a very persuasive kind of guy."

* * *

"And that's what happened," Casey said, wrapping up the story she'd just told George, who was sitting opposite to her on her bed.

"So you and Derek are really going out?"

"As much as I hate admitting it to you… yes. Yes, we are."

"_My_ Derek?" George questioned.

"Yes, _you're_ Derek."

"But I thought you guys hated each other? You're always bickering and fighting."

"I know," Casey agreed. "But then one night when Derek was getting a bottle for Lucas—"

"Oh, my God," George said worriedly as he grabbed Casey's arm.

"What is it?" Casey asked concernedly.

"That baby," George began, "that baby's not…"

"Derek's and mine?"

George silently nodded.

"No. The baby is definitely someone else's."

"Oh, thank God," George said with a sigh of relief.

"Besides, didn't Derek tell you that Lucas wasn't his?"

"Yes, but I've found it very hard to trust what Derek says lately."

"Why?" Casey asked.

"Is 'he's Derek' enough or should I elaborate?"

"No need," Casey said, smiling to herself at the thought of Derek. "So now that you know about me and Derek, where do we go from here?"

"I say we get Derek to move back in," George answered.

"What?" Casey said, slightly surprised. "But I thought you wouldn't let him back in unless he gave up Lucas?"

"I've been thinking about that and… well, if I can learn to deal with you and my son _dating_, I can probably deal with Derek taking care of somebody else's kid."

"Out of curiosity, which one's worse?"

"I… have no idea," George confessed. "Honestly, I'm just glad that all this crazy news hasn't given me a heart attack yet."

"I take it I shouldn't tell you about my ditching school today then?"

"You ditched?" George questioned. "Actually, never mind. I don't want to know."

"You're probably better off," Casey said.

"If you need me, I'll be in the basement with your mother, all right?" George said, getting off of Casey's bed and heading for the door.

"Okay, George," Casey said as George left the room.

* * *

"Phone's for you," Abby called to Derek that morning.

"Y'ello?" Derek said as he picked up the receiver.

"Hello, Derek," George said on the other end.

"Oh," Derek said disappointedly. "It's you."

"_It's you_?" George repeated. "Is that any way to talk to your father?"

"No, but then you're not my real father, are you?" Derek shot back.

"Okay, well, is that any way to talk to the man that's inviting you to move back home?"

"Invitation denied," Derek said firmly.

"Derek, are you sure you know what you're saying?" George asked. "I'm offering you to move back _home_."

"And I don't want to. Besides, Lucas is sleeping a lot more here than he was over at _your_ house. What possible reason could I possibly have to move back?"

"You'd be with Casey."

"So?"

"Your mother told me all about your little _relationship_, Derek."

"Knowing you, you'd probably make me give that up too if I move back in. Well, no thank you. I'm keeping the baby and I'm keeping my girlfriend."

"You can have both when you move back," George explained. "You can keep going out with your stepsister, however weird that may seem, and you can continue taking care of… what did you call him?"

"Lucas."

"Yes, you can continue taking care of Lucas and you can be back home again."

"You're serious?"

"As crazy as it might sound, yes. Yes, I am."

"Well… okay then," Derek agreed. "I was beginning to miss Smarti and Edwin anyway."

"Feel free to move back in any time today. I don't think anyone will be home until this afternoon, but you've still got your key so you can let yourself in, right?"

"Sure thing."

"Well, I should get ready for work. See you soon."

"You too," Derek said. "Oh, and one more thing."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome, Derek," George said before he hung up the phone.

* * *

After explaining the situation to Abby, Derek packed his stuff up and got Lucas ready to go.

"Do you know where we're going?" Derek said to Lucas as he settled him down in the basinet. "We're going back home. Back to Dad and Nora and Marti and Edwin and Lizzie and Casey… ah, Casey," Derek said happily with a passionate sigh.

"Are you nearly ready?" Abby asked as she peeked into Derek's room.

"Just about," Derek answered. "But you know you don't have to wait to drive me home, right? I can walk if you like."

"No, that's fine. I'd be happy to drive you."

"Seriously, Mom, if you have to get to work, go."

"Are you sure?" Abby asked. "Because I'd hate to see you walk all that way. And with a baby in tow nonetheless."

"It's fine," Derek reassured Abby. "I walked all the way here when I first came. It's not that far."

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes!" Derek exclaimed. "Now go! Get to work."

"You're sure you'll get back home all right?"

"I insist you go to work _right now_," Derek ordered, pointing his finger at the front door.

"It was great having you come stay for a couple days, you know," Abby said as she headed for the door. "Even if it was under… _odd_ circumstances."

"I'll come back again, don't worry," Derek said. "Now would you get to work already?"

"Consider me gone," Abby said as she disappeared out the door.

"I thought she'd never leave," Derek said to Lucas.

* * *

"Ready to cross the street?" Derek asked Lucas as the WALK sign came on.

Lucas ignored Derek's question as usual.

"Here we go," Derek said as he crossed the street with Lucas.

Arriving at the other street corner, Derek looked back to discover that Lucas had tossed one of his toys out of his basinet. "Oh, great," Derek muttered as he put Lucas down. "You stay there while I go get your toy, okay?" Derek said as he headed back out onto the crosswalk.

He never even noticed the car heading straight towards him.


	12. Chapter 12

"Hey, stranger," a gentle woman's voice said. "You all right?"

Derek opened his eyes with a start, suddenly compelled to see where he was and who was talking to him, since the last thing he remembered was crossing the street. Derek stared up at the redheaded, blue-eyed young woman looking down at him as his head lay in her lap. "What am I doing here?"

"You were hit by a car," the woman explained.

"I what?" Derek asked in shock as he quickly sat up, unable to comprehend what he'd just heard.

"Got hit by a car," the woman said again. "I brought you back here so the police and medical services wouldn't start showing up."

"And what would be so bad about that? I might need serious medical attention here."

"You're fine," the woman said. "You have a bit of a bump on your head, but I'm sure you've done worse damage than that falling off a trampoline as a kid."

"Out of a tree, actually," Derek corrected the woman. "So why didn't we want cops and EMS people around?"

"Because their vehicles make a lot of noise."

"So?"

"So it would wake the baby," the woman said, gesturing to Lucas in the basinet a few feet away from her.

"Oh, my God, is he okay?" Derek asked in a panic as he rushed over to check on Lucas.

"You've got to learn to relax, Derek Venturi," the woman said. "He's just fine. But if you don't calm down and talk a little quieter, you'll probably wake him."

"Yeah, you've got a point— Wait. How'd you know my name?"

The woman reached into her back pocket and pulled out a wallet. "Student card," the woman said before she tossed Derek the wallet.

"Hey, my wallet," Derek said, examining the contents in it. "You know, I could've sworn I had a few more bucks than this."

"Hey, life on the streets ain't cheep," the woman retorted. "Besides, I'll be pay you back when I get some cash."

"How did you even get a hold of my wallet?" Derek asked curiously.

"You dropped it last week out by the library," the woman said.

"Right, when I was doing that report for English class," Derek remembered. "So you, what, scooped it up and helped yourself to some free money?"

"I've been watching you, Derek."

"Okay, that sounds creepy."

"I saw you and your sister, at least I assume she's your sister… dark hair, juvenile behaviour…"

"Smarti? Or rather, Marti?" Derek guessed.

"Yeah, that must her. I saw you guys at the park together. Saw the way you treated her, like she was your most precious possession."

"Is there a point to this?"

"Yes, I—"

The woman was suddenly interrupted by a loud cry from Lucas.

"Oh, no, he's awake," the woman said, reaching into the basinet and pulling out Lucas. "Come on," she said sweetly to him, "be good for Mommy."

"Mommy?" Derek questioned.

"Right, I forgot to tell you that part," the woman said. "I'm his mother."

* * *

"Derek!" Casey shouted as she raced into the house that afternoon. She had rushed out of school the minute the bell rang and headed straight for home. She couldn't wait to have Derek back at home.

"Derek?" Casey called again as she started to explore the house. "Derek, are you home?"

Emily came bursting through the front door a moment later, startling Casey as she asked, winded, "Why did we race all the way here, Casey? I swear, my heart is ready to explode."

"Where is he?" Casey questioned as she headed upstairs.

"Where is who?" Emily asked.

"Derek."

"I thought he moved out?"

"Yes, well, he was supposed to come back today," Casey explained as she started searching the bedrooms.

"I'm never going to understand this family," Emily said to herself as she turned on the TV.

A breaking news story was on, featuring an amateur video of a teenaged boy being hit by a car.

"Casey!" Emily called. "I think I found him!"

Casey raced down the stairs to find out what Emily was talking about. "Where'd you find him, Em?"

"TV," Emily answered, gesturing for Casey to watch.

Casey watched the TV as a redheaded girl scooped an unconscious Derek off the street and carried him off camera. "What in the world was that?" Casey demanded.

"He was hit by a car," Emily explained. "And then that redhead woman showed up. Watch, they're playing it again."

Casey watched the video from start to finish and listened to the news reporter that announced who shot the amateur video and that if anyone had any information on the accident or the names of the people in the video they were to contact the police immediately.

"He can't just come home like a normal person," Casey grumbled. "No, he has to make some big spectacle out of it."

"Casey, I don't think he _chose_ to be hit by a car today. I know I certainly would never choose that."

"Ah, but you don't know Derek. He probably got one of his hockey teammates to drive the car _just_ so he could get on the news. Do you know how annoying he is?"

"Well, he _is_ Derek," Emily said.

"Exactly," Casey said, putting her coat back on.

"Where are you going?" Emily asked.

"To find Derek," Casey said simply. "And prove that little stunt of his was all his idea to begin with."

"You are one very strange girl, Casey."

"Don't I know it," Casey said, heading out the door. Once Casey had gotten further down the block, away from her house and Emily, she let the tears she felt stinging her eyes run down her cheeks. She was worried about Derek, scared that he'd been seriously hurt. Sure she'd made those remarks in front of Emily, but the truth was… she didn't know what she'd do without him.

* * *

"What do you mean _you're _his mother?" Derek asked the woman.

"I mean I'm his mother," the woman said, rocking a quieted Lucas in her arms. "How much simpler can I put it?"

"Okay, then if you're his mother, why'd you drop him off at my doorstep?"

"Because raising a kid on the streets just didn't seem like a bright idea."

"True as that may be, why me? Out of all the doorsteps you could've dropped your baby at, why mine?"

"I already told you," the woman replied, irritated. "It was because of the way you were treating your sister. You're clearly good with kids."

"But you dropping your kid off at my door got me kicked out of the house!" Derek complained.

"Is that so?" the woman said, not amused.

"Yeah, it is."

"Well, did you have to go live on the streets? Eat discarded pizza from the trash? Hitch rides with strangers you wouldn't trust in your wildest nightmares?"

"Actually… I went to my mom's," Derek confessed.

"That's what I thought."

"But just because I went to live with my mom doesn't mean that your kid didn't make my life hell."

"God, would you give him a name already?" the woman grumbled.

"What?"

"You keeping calling him my kid or my baby, just give him a name!"

"I did already. Named him Lucas."

"Then call him that, would you?"

"Why?" Derek asked. "I thought _you_ already had a name for him. You know, since you're his mother."

"Well, I don't," the woman answered firmly. "I dumped him at your door the second I was out of the hospital."

"Oh. Well, speaking of names, what's yours?" Derek said, changing the subject.

"Gail. Gail Lennon."

"How old—"

"Twenty-four."

"Why are you—""

"Living on the streets? Because I couldn't stand home anymore."

"Who's Lucas—"

"No. You don't want to know who his dad is," Gail said. "You really don't."

"Why not?"

"Just trust me."

"Why? Who is it?"

"I already told you," Gail said, repeating herself, "you _don't_ want to know."

"Well, I won't know I don't want to know unless you tell me, will I?"

"Do you drive everyone you know this insane?"

"Yeah, I'm known for it."

"Well, fine," Gail said, giving in. "I'll tell you. It's my stepdad."

"Your stepdad?"

"Yeah. That's who Lucas's father is."

"So your stepdad, uh…"

"Yep," Gail said, answering Derek's unfinished question. "After that I couldn't even stand the sight of him, so I ran away. I figured living on the streets was a whole lot better than living with him."

"How could your stepdad do that to you though?" Derek questioned, knowing that George would never do anything like that to his stepdaughters, Casey and Lizzie.

"He was scum," Gail said simply. "He was rich and my mom fell in love with his money, which is why she married him. She fell so in love, might I add, that she didn't even believe me when I told her about what the dirt bag had done."

"Did you tell the cops?"

"Didn't bother. I figured if my own mother wouldn't believe me, what chance did I stand with the cops?"

"Well, my dad's a lawyer. Maybe he could help you out. You could sue your stepdad and I'm pretty sure you'd win."

"Sounds great, but what judge is going to believe a young, homeless single mother?"

"I believe you," Derek said, trying to comfort Gail.

"Thanks, kid."

"Derek!" Casey shouted as she raced over to him and flung her arms around him in a hug. "I thought you were dead!"

"Nice to see you too, sis," Derek said. "Now could you please let go? I'm starting to lose circulation."

Casey quickly let go of Derek and turned to Gail. "You're the woman from the video, right? The one that took Derek?"

"That'd be me."

"Why are you holding Lucas?" Casey asked. "Derek, why is she holding Lucas?"

"'Cause, Case, this is Gail Lennon, Lucas's mom."

"Wait, you're the one that dropped Lucas off at the door? That got Derek in the most trouble he's ever been in? That got him kicked out of the house?" Casey accused.

"This your overprotective girlfriend or something?" Gail asked.

"I'm his stepsister, thank you very much," Casey corrected her.

"An overprotective stepsister. That's a new one," Gail said.

"She's also my girlfriend," Derek added, wrapping his arm around Casey's waist.

"Then you have a weird taste in girls, Venturi."

"How did you know his name?" Casey asked.

"She found my wallet," Derek explained. "Which is how she got our address and knew where to drop Lucas off at."

"But why'd you leave him at our door in the first place?" Casey asked Gail.

"Like I told your stepbrother… er, boyfriend… er, Derek here, I saw him at the park with his little sister. He looked like he did well with kids."

"Derek?" Casey questioned. "This Derek?"

"Hey, I took pretty good care of Lucas," Derek argued.

"With my assistance, training, and guidance," Casey pointed out. "You didn't even know how to change a diaper before I showed you."

"I would've figured it out eventually," Derek said.

"As if," Casey replied.


	13. Chapter 13

"Told you I can win any case," George boasted.

"You were wonderful, Mr. Venturi," Gail said as she followed him out of the courtroom. She had taken Derek up on his suggestion and sued her stepdad for what he did to her.

George politely agreed to work for free on the case.

In the end, Gail's stepdad was not only charged and put away for his crime, he was also fined a large sum to finance Gail as she got her life back on track. Gail's mother refused to talk to her after she got her husband locked away, but Gail didn't care. She had a new family now, two to be precise: the Venturis and the MacDonalds.

"Are you sure you don't need anything else?" Nora asked as Gail stood by the door with her suitcase and Lucas.

"No. You guys have been great these past two months. Welcoming me, a complete stranger, into your home. I can't imagine finding that generosity anywhere else."

"Well, it was fun having you," Casey said.

"And Lucas," Derek added. "Kid's a blast and a half."

"You guys are welcome to visit anytime. You have my address, right?"

"We do and we will," George answered, holding up the sheet of notepaper Gail had written the address on.

"Well, gosh, I guess I better get going. I just can't thank you guys enough."

"You could chip in for the room and board," Edwin suggested.

Lizzie slapped him on the arm. "Edwin!"

"What? I'm just saying."

"He's right," Gail said, pulling out her wallet.

"No, no," Nora said. "Please don't pay us. We couldn't accept it."

"We can't?" Edwin asked.

"Here," Gail said, handing George the money. "For your services as a lawyer and landlord."

"Gail, this is far too much. We can't—"

"I won't have it. You guys deserve it. Besides, the money I got from my stepdad was more than enough."

"Well, thank you, Gail," George said, putting the money away.

"Remember us for babysitting," Casey said.

"I will," Gail said, grabbing her suitcase and Lucas. "Goodbye."

"Bye!" the Venturis and MacDonalds called after Gail as she went out the door.

"Phew!" Marti said after Gail and Lucas were gone. "I thought he'd never leave."

"Excuse me?" Nora said.

"Lucas. For a while there, I wasn't the youngest! It was horrifying!"

"How do you think I felt when you were born?" Edwin asked.

"How do you think I felt when we moved in with you guys?" Lizzie asked.

"Should we tell them?" Nora asked George.

"No time like the present," he replied.

"Mom," Casey said hesitantly. "What are you and George talking about?"

"You're not going to be the youngest anymore, Marti," Nora said.

Marti screamed loudly until she ran out of breath.

"That was painful," George said, rubbing his ears.

"You can say that again," Derek said.

"What?" George shouted.

"Okay, what's going on, Mom?" Casey asked.

"Well, since we had Lucas and Gail living with us, it got your father and I thinking."

"About what?" Lizzie asked.

"We're having a baby," Nora announced.

"No!" the kids cried in unison.

"No?" Nora questioned. "But what about the babysitting offers you were giving Gail? And the midnight feedings you guys were doing?"

"That was before it was mandatory," Derek explained.

"It won't be mandatory," George said. "You just won't get an allowance if you don't do it."

"Well, I think it'll nice having another sister. This place needs more girls."

"There's already four of you, how many more do we need?" Edwin complained.

"And who says it's a girl?" Derek said. "Could be another Venturi boy."

"Oh, no," Casey gasped. "This baby will be half Venturi, won't it?"

"Yes," Nora said. "Is that a problem?"

"Yes!" Casey cried. "It'll do poorly in school and never learn Shakespeare and, and… and turn into Derek!"

"Which isn't too bad, really," Derek said.

"Not intelligence-wise. Mom, we need to get a stereo and a collection of classical music. This baby will not be… Venturi-minded."

"You make that sound like a bad thing," George said.

"Name one Vivaldi piece," Casey challenged.

"Um… his first?"

"I rest my case."


End file.
